Pigilit Procured

Where did it go? The blond young woman looked around, glancing down each alley she and Maggie passed by as they walked. Well, Maggie more waddled than walked, trying to keep up with Omega’s naturally quick walking speed. Omega paused to let her catch up, shoving her hands into her denim jacket’s pockets. It was that time of year that things got cold, especially here in the underground city that was Thunderdale. Sure, some areas were warm, but overall, there was a chill that lingered in the air, sending goosebumps along her arms.

The Pokemon fusion stopped next to her, clutching at her head and tilting it to the side. Her one visible eye gave off an almost eerie glow in the neon and fluorescent lighting of the surrounding buildings. People shuffled around, tense and suspicious, but it only took the sharp eyed trainer a few moments to notice the parted wave of people as they watched something run past them. There! Omega scooped up Maggie and held her close, feeling tiny fingers curl into the material of her jacket for support before she jogged in the direction their quarry had fled.

Who in the world had painted random Pigilit orange? And fed them candy?! Faintly, over the murmur of machines and the drone of people, she heard the panicked squealing of one such Pokemon and she adjusted her course to follow suit. At another crossroads, she stopped and looked around again, and after a second, she felt a tug on her jacket. She looked down to see Maggie pointing down a particular alley. She smiled and kissed the Pokemon’s head in thanks before heading down the alley. This particular one had concerned her, as it wasn’t moving quite as nimbly as others she’d helped catch over the past month. She’d only caught snippets of it or seen it run away from behind, but it looked in rough shape - it was almost more a subconscious feeling that wouldn’t let go of her bleeding heart.

There, at the end of the alley, desperately looking for a way out of the dead end it had ended up down, was an orange colored Pigilit, racing from one side of the wall to the other and giving more panicked squeals and squawks. Gently, Omega put the Psyduck/Larvesta fusion down and slowly, carefully approached the creature, trying not to scare it more than it was. She’d been tracking it for a week now, and now that she had a clear look at it, it was scuffed and its fur a mess, as if it had been desperately grooming itself to get rid of the orange it found itself to be. It almost looked like it’d gotten in a fight beside that, and she stopped a few feet away, waiting for the Pokemon to notice her. In the meantime, she sat down cross-legged on the concrete ground as quietly and as slowly as she could, just in case.

The Pigilit paused and turned, its fur bristling with electricity, and an arc of static dancing from point to point on its crest in warning. When she didn’t flinch or back away, it charged at her and gave what she could only refer to as a ‘bark’, stopping a foot away. It took everything she had not to just laugh at the threat display, though she could feel a strained smile being smothered on her face. The Pokemon noticed it didn’t work and looked at her suspiciously, then at the fusion in her lap. Maggie waved, her other hand still holding her head. 

“Hey there… It’s OK…” Omega murmured, holding her hand out to the Pigilit. Still suspicious, it approached, sniffing her hand. It stepped back, then next thing she knew, the Pokemon dove into her lap, nuzzling into her jacket, ‘talking’ the whole time, as if venting at her about its life and what was going on. The young woman paused and then stroked at its fur in assurance, and it was then she realized the texture of the fur wasn’t what she expected of a painted Pokemon. Huh.

“Did you… want to come home with me?” She asked quietly, and the Pokemon paused, as if thinking, before continuing to burrow into her jacket. She was going to take that as a yes. Carefully, slowly, she took out a Pokeball and tapped the Pigilit with it. It dissolved into light, and the Pokeball vibrated in her hand once, twice… three times… Ding!

The technical display on her temple opened a display. “You’ve captured a Pigilit! Would you like to give it a nickname?”

She let the Pigilit out before she nodded. “Yes.”